Portable camp stove



June 1925. 1,540,077

F. G. KLlNERT PORTABLE CAMP STOVE Filed Nov. 25,. 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 1F [5.1

mws/v 70/2 WITNESSES 4 1,540,077 F. G. KLINERT' ORTABLE CAMP STOVE FiledNov. 25, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 I, 3 40 INVENTQR Z4 Mgm June 1925.-

F. G. KLINERT PORTABLE CAMP STOVE Filed Nov. 25, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 3FIGEI.

R m m w June 2, 1925.

' 1,540,077 F. G. KLINERT PORTABLE CAMP STOVE Filed Nov. 25, 9 4Sheets-Sheet 4 F 3.9. a

A5 I I FIEI'JEL IN VENTOR Patented June 2, 1925.

ES PATENT oer-ice FRED G. KLINERT, OEDULU'TH; MINNESOTA, ASSIGNQR TOHUGO MANUFACTURING COMPANY, QF-WES'D DULUTH, MINNESOTA, A CORPORATION OF-MI1\TNESOTA.

mum armsrovn ApplicationfiledNovember 25, 1-924. Serial No.. 752,139;

T all 01mm itmay concern: 7

Be it known that LFRED G. Knrivnn'na citizenof. the United States, and aresident of Dulutluinthe county offSt. Louis and State of Minnesota,have invented anew and useful. Improvement, in Portable (la-mp Stoves,of which thefollowing 1s a specification.

This invention. relates generally to port lated, and which can bemanufactured at a reasonable cost.

It is a special object to provide a stove of this character in which thesupporting means therefor while extremely sturdy and'adapted toposition, the maincasing ata considerable height when the stove is setup for use, nevertheless nest with each other andjwith the casing whenthe stove is knocked-down so as to occupy the mmnnum space, in which.such means coact to protect the corners of the casing and interlock witheach other when in folded condition, in which the said means coact withportions of the, casing so as to he positively and r g dly held 1n adefinite position when, disposed 1n cas1ng-supporting relation, and in,which the said means are p votally attached to the casing in a mannertending; to prevent swinging movement thereofexeept. under. force positilv Prlied y h -us r- It is also a special object to provide conenientand compact means or p sit e y holding and, supporting the lid of thecasing in the desired position when the stove is set up, the functioningof which is not etfectedhy the character of the ground or othersupportingsurfaoe where the stove is located.

These and; other objects Off the invention will more fully. appear hen.akeni cenjunction with the following descriptionand the appended claims.

In the. accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment ofthe, invention, Fig.1 is a top plan view showing the stove in itsunfolded condition set up for use; Fig. 2 a front elevation of'theconstruction shownin Fig. 1; Fig, 8 a vertical trans verse sectionalview taken substantially midway between the ends of the casing and in aplane at right angles to that of Fig. 2 Fig.v

l a fragmentary detail view showing the o nted extremity of one ofthevalve stems 'for controlling the bnrners Fig. 5 a fragmentary sectionalenlarged vlew illustratmg k the. means employed for locking the lid ofthe casing in closed position; 6 fragmentary view, partially in sect onand partially m elevation, showing tlienieans employed for locking thesupporting lo raceslfor K the legs in casing supporting position; Fig. 7a fragmentary sectional v ew, on an enlarged scale, illustrating thenesting of the especially constructed legs both with the corners of thecasing and with themselves; Fig. 8 a vertical transverse sectional viewillustrating the casing in'its closed condition, or in other words whenarranged for transportation, portions being omitted for the sake'ofclearness; Fig. 9 a bottom plan view showing the relative positions of'the legs, the. bracing means therefor, and the means for positivelyholding the lid in. a definite position, when the stoveisset up for use;and Fig. is a bottom plan view of the stove. showing the relativepositions which the. same parts assume when the stove tion.

Referring to the drawings, the stove case 1 is knocked-down or foldedfor transportav at 8, are provided. These latches preferably consist ofa piece of sheet metal bent upon itself adjacent the extremity thereofopposite its hinged connection 8, as indicated at 9. The bent terminalformed by this folding or bending is adapted to project through andinterlock with a suitable opening 10 provided in the side wall 3, all asclearly shown in Fig. of the drawings. In order that the entire stovestructure may be readily carried when in its folded or knocked-downcondition, the front side wall may also be equipped with the bent wirehandle indicated at The casing is equipped with a plurality of pairs ofsupporting legs pivotally attached thereto. These legs are preferablyattached to the bottom of the casing, and are pivotally mounted thereonby means of perforated ears 11, 11 and 11". As shown, these ears areshort cylindersof sheet metal attached in any suitable way to the casingbottom. It is noted that the cars 11 and 11", positioned adjacent theside walls 2 and 3, have their axes extending at a slight angle to theend wall of the casing, and that the ear 11, dis-' posed intermediatethe first mentioned ears,

is positioned slightly out of alignment therewith, all for a purpose tobe subsequently described more in detail.

In the form illustrated, the casing is equipped withfour supporting legsdesignated by the reference numerals 12, 12, 13,

13, respectively, one being positioned at each corner of the bottom ofthe casing.

These le s are arran edin )airs le s 12 b b 7 Z'a 7 12 constituting onepair, and legs 13, 18 constituting the other pair. Irrespective oftheir-arrangement, the construction of all of the legs is identical,being preferably formed of flexible sheet metal bent to assume theangular cross-section, clearly il-' lustrated in the drawings, the angleformed by the portions of the leg corresponding to the angle formedbetween the bottom of the casing and the side walls thereof, and asshown is a right angle. The legs 12, 12,-

forming one pair are rigidly attached to the opposite ends of aresilient flexible bar let which is threaded through the ears 11,

V 11, and 11", the extremities of the bar being bent at an angle to itsintermediate portion, as clearly indicated at 15, 15, to "facilitateattachment to the legs. These ends are preferably located withintheangle formed by the legs and may be rigidly attached thereto in anydesirable manner, as by soldering or brazing.

The legs 13 and 13, forming the remaining pair, are similar in allrespects to the legs 12, 12, just described, being likewiserigidlyconnected to aflexible rod 16 forming a bodily movable unit withthe legs to which it is attached. Each of the legs 12 and 12 is providedadjacent its free ex-' tremity with an opening or aperture 17,

while each of the legs 13 and 13 is equipped with an outwardlyprojecting tongue 17 formed by striking up a portion of the metalthereof, the relative disposition of these parts being such that whenthe legs are swung from their casing-supporting position, as illustratedin Fig. 9, to their folded position adjacent the casing, as illustratedin Fig. 10, the tongueswill project through the openings or apertures 17to effect an iiiterlocking engagement for positively'holding: thelegs intheir folded condition.

Pivotally carried by each of the pairs of legs 12,12" and 13, 13 is abent rod serving as a supporting brace. The. brace attached to the legs,12, 12,is indicated at 18 while that associated with the legs 13, 3 isshown at "1.9 each of these braces being bent so as to form a.comparativelyshort intermediate portion 18", 19 which isadapted tocooperate with allocking means carried by the bottom'of the casing. Thebottom of the casing at its central portion is provided with an opening20 at the opposite sides of which .is disposed the pair of curved cars21, 21 depending from the casing bottom. Fixed to theinner face of thebottom 1 as by liveting at the point 22 is a leafspring 23 provided atthe end opposite its attachment to the bottom with a bent portion 2 1forming a retaining lug which is adapted to 'projectthrou gh the opening20 into the space between theears 21, 21. and

isnormally urged to the position shown in Fig. 6 by the resiliency ofthe material of the spring 23. Sufficient space is provided between thelug 2 1 and the ears to receive the portions'18 and 1.9 of the braces 18and 19, the parts being so shaped as to lockingly hold the braces in theposition shown in Figs. 3,6 and 9, whenever the lug 24 is permitted toproject through the opening 20. v

' The constructionof the braces 18 and 19 are identical-in allrespectswith the exception that the limbs-of the braces 18 are off-setintermediate theirlength as at the points 25, 125: where they" over-ridethe limbs :of the brace 1 9when the stove is in its knocked-down;condition,-the spaces left between the off-set portions and the bottomof the casing accommodating the limbs of the brace 19, while atthe sametime permitting all of the parts to lie closely adacent the casing soas'to occupy the mini- 11111111 space. ThG- COOPGI'ZIUOII of the off-setportions 25, 25 with the ren'iainingparts is clearly illustrated in Fig.10 of thedrawings.

Besides the latches 7, the lid 6 also carries 1 a frame designatedgenerally by the refhas not only the resultof securing a rigid compactstructure, but also serves to limit the swinging movement of the arms inone direction due to. contact between one end of the arms and the bodyof the frame as shown in said figure. The free ends of the arms 28, 28are slightly'reduced so as to form the fingers 30, 30' which are adaptedto project through the respective openings 31, 31 provided in the legs12, 13 disposed at the side of the casing to which the lid (i is hinged.hen the fingers are projected through these openings, in the-mannerilhistrated in Figs and 9', the lid 6 is positively supported in thehorizontal position desired when the stove is set up for use, while atthe same time permitting the frame 26 to be folded so as to occupycomparatively little space and be bodily swung into the interior of thecasing when the stove is in its knocked-down condition.

The side walls 2' and 3 of the casing are equipped witli the inwardlyprojecting ledges 2.5, 35, the former having the upturned perforatedterminal ears 36, '36 which are adapted to receive the terminals of awireygri'd 37, thus serving as a convenient means for pivot'allymounting and supporting the grid withi'nt-he casing.-

As is usual in stovesof this character, the stove includes one or moreburner jets, a vaporgenerator and a fuel supply tank, these severalelements being preferably unit into a unitary structure movablefrom aposl ion entirely within the casing to a position with thetankdisposeduponthe exterior of the casing when the stove is inv use. Inthe embodiment illustrated, there are two burners 3S, iif'l'fa singlevapor generating tube 39 arranged above the jet 38, and a fuel supplytank ll). This tanlris rovided with the usual filling openingyetl andindicating gage j to the vapor generatins tube by means of the pipe 43and the valve controlli i'rg mechanism H. The tank 40 is rigidlyconnected to the remaining portions'by means of a pair of straps whichare adapted to engage suitable notches 46, 46 formed in the upper edgeof the side wall 3, when the burner structure is positioned for use, asindicated in I 1 of the drawings. The burner structure is also equippedwith the usual mixing tube 47 and the pipes for conveying the fuelmixture to the burners inurbane lit-4S and as.

This entire burner structure may be bodily moved from itsinoperativeposition in which the entirestl'uct-u're is located with.

42, and is connected in the space below the grid 37 to its opera.- tiveposition with the tank upon the exterior of the casing, as. illustratedin Figs. 1 and 3. In order to aid inpositively holding the burnerstructure'in its operative position, the bottom 1 is provided withupstanding curved retaining clip e9 which is adapted to engage one ofthe burner pipes, as clearly indicated'in Fig. 3', and the bottom 1 isalso equipped with another retaining clip 50 between which and the sidewall 3 the tank 40 is disposed when the burner structure occupies itsinoperative position within the casing.

When the stove is set up for use with the b'l'irner structure in theposition shown in Fig. 1, thevalve stem of the valve mechainism 44 isadapted to extend through an opening in the end wall 5 provided for thatpurpose. The opposite end wall 4 is also provided with an openinghlthrough which the jointed extremity of the valve stem for the burner 38is adaptedflto project. This jointed end comprises a pair ofspa'ced'links 53, 53 pivoted to the stem 5'2,and a terminal thumb piece 5pivoted between the links. l/Vhen the stove is set up for use, the partsof the jointed extremity may. be made to assume the relative positionsshown in, full lines in Fig. 4: of the drawings, in which case the thumbpiece 54 projects to the exterior of the casing. In the knockeddown'condition of the stove, the parts are moved to the positions shown bythe dotted lines in said figure, thus permitting the entiireburnerstructure, including the valve stem for the valve 4A, to lie within thecasing. it being understood diet in the latter position. the structuremoved somewhat to the left of the position which it occupies binedwarming oven and windshield. As

shown, this is formed of four members. a

bacl; 56, si-des'57 and 58 pivoted to the back, and a shelf or traySides 57 and 58 are provided on their nner faces with lugs 60 whichcooperate with the lower edges of these sides to form slots whichreceive the upper edges of easing ends -1- and 5. Back- 56 of thecombined windshield and warming oven rest directly upon the outer edgeof thelid'G, as indicated in Fig. 3.

tl'ierprovided with lugs 61 which cooperate with the sides to form slotsadapted to re- 'ceive downwardly extending flanges The inner faces ofsides 57 and 58 are furon which articles which have been cooked may beplaced to be kept warm.

Especial attention is directed to the con stantly flexed condition inwhich the rods 14; and 16, connecting the respective legs of the severalpairs, are maintained both by the disposition of the axes of theapertured cars at the corners of the casing and by the arrangement ofthe said ears out of alignment with the intermediate ear cor respondingto that designated 11; also to the nested arrangement of the legs withthe corners of the casing as well as upon themselves together with theirinterlocking engagement as illustrated in 7 of the drawings; and inaddition the positive man ner in which both the casing supporting legsand the lid of the casing is maintained in a definite fixed. positionwhen the stove is set up for use.

The operation of the stove will be obvious from the above description.Vhen the stove is arranged for transportation, the entire burnerstructure, the windshield, and the frame 26, lie wholly within thecasing in the manner shown in Fig. 8, the warming shelf 59 beingarranged below the grid 37,. and with the windshield lying between'thegrid and the casing lid 6. The casing is tightly lockedin closedposition by means of the latches 7, and the casing supporting legs and.

their braces are folded closely adjacent the casing, in the manner shownin Fig. 10, in which position they are positively mamtained by theinterlocking engagement afforded by the struckup tongues and openings inthe legs.

To set the stove up for use, the interlocking engagement of the tongues17 is first released by slightly flexing the legs away from the body ofthe casing. The legs and braces may then be readily swung under pressureto the position shown in Figs. 2 and 9, when the intermediate portions18 and 19 of the braces are locked in the manner shown in Fig. 6 bypressing such intermediate portions against the retaining lug.

24 sufficiently to permit the intermediate portions to passinto thespaces provided between the lug and the ears 2 1, 21, in an obviousfashion.

lVith the free extremities of the legs adjusted to *asing-support-ingposition, the same are placed upon any desirable support ing surface ordirectly .upon the ground. The lid 6 is then released, and the frame 26swung backwardly with the arms 28. 28' adjusted to the positions shownin Fig. 9, so that the terminal fingers 30, 30 thereof may engage theopenings provided therefor in the legs 12"and 13 for the purpose ofpositively supporting the lid in the desired horizontal position. Thecombined windshield and warming oven may then be arranged in operativeposition upon the lid and casing, in

the manner previously explained, if desired, or the burner structuremay. be merely shifted from a position within the casing to a positionin which the tank is located upon the exterior thereof, in the eventthat it is not intended to use the windshield and warming oven. Thepivoted arrangement of the grid 37 permits ready shifting of the burnerstructure and the removal of the parts housed therebelow, withoutnecessitating the removal of the grid or danger of its accidentaldisplacement. The grid itself, however, may be bodily removed, ifdesired, merely by flexing the bent extremities engaging the ears 36, 36to a point suflicient to' disengage the grid in an obvious manner.

The burner structure is controlled in the customary manner by means ofthe several instrumentalities previously described, and since thisstructure forms no part of the present invention, except in so far as itcooperates with the remaining parts, its operation need not be describedin greater detail.

The invention, as illustrated and de scribed, provides an extremelycompact, sturdy and convenient construction. When in its knocked-downcondition for transportation, the arrangement of the several partsassures an extremely compact structure in which the parts are lockedagainst accidental displacement, and the cooperation between thesupporting legs not only causes them to occupy the minimum space butalso serves to embrace and protect the corners of the casing. lVhen inits set-up condition, the same arrangement of legs not only provides'avery firm'support for the casing in spite of the considerableheight atwhich the casing is elevated, but the legs are positively held incasing-supporting position, and in turn insures a steady support for thecasing llCl due to the coaction between the legs and the swinging framecarried by the lid.

Due to the constantly flexed condition in which the rods joining thelegs are maintained, and regardless of the positions which the legsoccupy either in their folded inoperative condition or in their unfoldedcasing supporting position, a. binding frictional contact exists betweenthe rods and the several apertured ears by which they are pivoted to thecasing. The parts are so arranged. that the frictional contact thusafforded is suflicient to prevent any accidental swinging movement ofthe leg. structure during haudling of the stove. In other words, thefrictional resistance thus aft'orded is suflicient to preclude anyswinging movement of the legs except under the influence of the user,thus adding greatly to the convenience in handling. The relativedisposition of the axes of the pivotal ears. 11 and 11 not only functionto produce the result just described, but.

also causes the supporting legs to flare outwardly away from the sidesof the casing when moved to casingsupporting posit-ionv consequentlyincreasing the supporting base for the stove when in its set upcondition.

I claim:

1. A portable stove comprising a casing having a bottom and side walls,supporting legs pivotally attached to the casing, said legs beingangular in cross-section and adapted to embrace the edges of the casingformed by the juncture of the bottom and side walls with, the edgeslying within the angles of the legs when swung to non-sup portingposition adj acent the casing, a plurality of said legs being adapted tolie upon each other in superposed nested relation, adjacent legs of thesaid superposed legs being equipped with interlocking portions forholding the legs in their folded condition.

2. A portable stove comprising a casing having a bottom and side walls,supporting legs pivotally attached to the casing, said legs beingangular in cross-section and adapted to embrace the edges of the casingformed by the juncture of the bottom and side walls with the edges lyingwithin the angles of the legs when swung to non-supporting positionadjacent the casing, a plurality of said legs being adapted to lie uponeach other in superposed nested relation, one leg of said superposedlegs being provided with a struck-up tongue, the adjacent leg of suchsuperposed legs having an opening for receiving the said tongue wherebyto lock the legs in their folded non-supporting position.

3. A portable stove comprising a casing provided with a bottom and sidewalls, flexible sheet metal supporting legs pivotally attached thereto,said legs being angular in cross-section and adapted to nest with theedge of the casing formed by the juncture of the bottom and a side wallof the casing with said edge lying within the angle of the leg when thelegs are swung towards the casing, a plurality of said legs beingarranged to swing into superposed nested re lation upon each other, oneof said superposed legs having a struck-up tongue projecting therefrom,and another of said superposed legs being provided with an aperture forlockingly receiving the said tongue whereby to hold the legs in nestedrelation upon the casing.

4. A portable stove comprising a casing having a bottom provided with anopening therethrough, spaced ears disposed at opposite sides of saidopening, a yieldingly mount-ed retaining lug adapted to project throughsaid opening into the space between the said ears, supporting legsswingingly attached to the casing, pivoted braces carried by said legs,a portion of each of said braces being adapted to be removably heldbetween said retaining lug and one of said ears whereby to lock the legsin casing support ing position. I

5.7 A portable stove comprising .a casing having a bottom provided withan opening therethrongh, spaced ears disposed at opposite sides of saidopening, a yieldingily mounted retaining lug adapted to project throughsaid opening into the space between the said ea'ls, pairs of supportinglegs swingingly fastened to the casing, a brace pivotally carried byeach of said pairs,a portion of each of the braces being adapted to beremovably locked between said retaining lug and one'of said ears to holdthe legs in casing-supporting position.

6. A portable stove'comprising a casing having a bottom provided with anopening therethrough, spaced ears disposed at opposite sides of saidopening, a yieldingly mounted retaining lug adapted to project throughsaid opening into the space between the said ears, pairs of supportinglegs swingingly fastened to the casing, a rod forming a brace pivoted atits opposite ends to each of said pairs, an intermediate portion of eachof said. rods being adapted to be removably held between the saidretaining lug and one of said ears whereby to lock the legs incasing-supporting position.

7. A portable stove comprising a casing, apertured ears carried by saidcasing, a resilient rod constantly maintained in a flexed conditionthreaded through said ears and supporting legs rigidly attached to thesaidrod.

8. A portable stove comprising a casing, apertured ears carried by saidcasing, a resilient rod threaded through said ears and rotatabletherein, the relative disposition of said ears constantly maintainingthe said rod in a flexed condition, and casing supporting legs attachedto the rod and bodily movable therewith.

9. A portable stove comprising a casing, spaced cylindrical ears carriedby said casing, the axes of said ears being disposed angularly toeachother, a hinge rod threaded through the said ears, and supportinglegs attached to the extremities of said rod.

10. A portable stove comprising a casing provided with supporting legs,a closure lid hinged to the casing at one side thereof, the legs adjacent said sides of the casing having openings therein, a framepivotally carried by the lid, said frame having portions adapted toengage the said openings whereby to hold the said lid in a fixedposition.

11. A portable stove comprising a casing provided with supporting legs,a closure lid hinged to the casing at one side thereof, a frameswingingly mounted on the lid, arms pivoted to said frame, said armsbeing adapted to lockingly engage the legs adjacent the side of thecasing to which the lid is hinged whereby to support and hold the lid ina fixed position.

12. A portable stove comprising a casing provided With supporting legs,a closure lid hinged to the casing at one side thereof, a frameswingingly mounted on the lid, arms pivoted to said frame intermediatetheir ends, said arms being U-shaped in crosssection and embracing uportion of said frame, one extremity of each of said arms being adaptedto strike the frame to limitits pivotal movement in one direction, theopposite extremity of the arm being adapted to engage cutaway portionsprovided in the legs disposed adjacent the side of the casing to whichthe lid is hinged whereby to support the lid in a fixed position.

In testimony whereof, I sign my name.

FRED G. KLINERT.

